Prio Wealth Limited Partnership Grows Stock Holdings in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,876 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $10,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 724.1% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 24,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,611,000 after buying an additional 21,833 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 140.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 464,062 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $68,106,000 after purchasing an additional 270,844 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,667,000. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 13,124 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ross Stores by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 547,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $80,382,000 after purchasing an additional 41,204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.86% of the company’s stock.

Ross Stores Price Performance

Shares of Ross Stores stock traded down $2.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $147.48. 403,384 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,226,238. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Ross Stores, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.39 and a fifty-two week high of $163.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $149.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.28.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.25 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 42.43% and a net margin of 9.82%. Ross Stores’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.3675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In other Ross Stores news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Barbara Rentler sold 48,885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total transaction of $7,524,868.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 311,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,003,532.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael Balmuth sold 14,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.22, for a total transaction of $2,266,099.14. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 11,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,665.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,138 shares of company stock worth $11,093,051. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $162.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised Ross Stores from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ross Stores from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Ross Stores to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $163.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.71.

Ross Stores Company Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.